Monitors VS FRFR cab. Differences?

I have the Adam A7X. Without a doubt the most phenomenal monitor I have ever had or have ever heard. You won’t be disappointed. :)
 
Bit late to the party but I'd like to put in another vote for the Yamaha HS8s.

When I was shopping for monitors a few years back, I made a shortlist of various monitors that had good reviews, and then I went to my local big chain music store and demoed them. I brought a music player with tracks I knew really well, across all the genres I'm into (classical, movie scores, rock, metal etc.) and tried them through each of the monitors.

I went in wanting the Adams. I'd read great things about them, and thought for sure they would be for me.

I walked out buying the Yamaha HS8s and have been happy ever since. There was just something about them that clicked with me. I could hear details in all of my reference tracks, yet they still sounded musical - enjoyable to listen to.

I originally bought them for mixing and working with keyboards/virtual instruments. I only more recently got an Axe FX, and it also sounds great through them.

If you can, I would go to a music store and try out a few options for yourself. If you can't, the HS8s sound great to my ears and tastes.
 
Doesnt it say if you want amp in the room tone, to run a power amp into a guitar cab with power amp modeling and speaker settings disabled?
I tried that setting and it didn't sound good at all.
I have found for live use, for me is a real guitar cab, loaded with certain speakers, and keep amp and cab sims on. I have full control of my tone and have no problem getting Fender, Marshall, Mesa and other amp sounds.
What IEMs are you using? Any recommendations based on your experience with these?
I'm partial to Shure IEMs. Have a couple of pairs of SE535. Very accurate and clear sounding. My drummer uses SE215. They are not as flat sounding but have a better bass response for the obvious reason.
 
What about the HS6.5 an HS5 ? Would there be a large tone difference with the HS5? I'm not planning on playing loud at all so..

Thanks,
 
I went to Long Mcquade store yesterday with my Ax8, Test them all in OP quote, walk out with Adam T5v, with $320can/unit, I’m more than happy compared to Yamaha HS and Krk series
 
Hi there, first post here. I'm planning on buying an AXE FX 3 for my 40th birthday next month. I'm having a hard time choosing Monitors/FRFR speaker for it. I'm just wondering if anyone here can tell me what difference would I hear from the options I'm considering below?

First of all, I play at home only, I don't play loud at all, just above the string noise from my instrument is usually my volume. I don't gig, ever, just play at home by myself.

I know an AXE FX is overkill for me, I don't really need it. But I've been considering it for years now and its my 40th so I'm going for it.

Now for tones I'm looking for or music style I play, I mostly play Iron Maiden covers, some Dream Theater, Metallica and Megadeth also. I'll be experimenting a lot with the high gain amps models but I'm not looking for a Djent type tone..

1. Yamaha HS8 Monitors. This is the option I'm leaning towards.. Looks to be a good pair of Monitors, price seems fair.
2. Adam A7X. These are twice the price of the HS8. Do they really sound that much better than the HS8's?
3. Matrix Amplificaiton FR12,1x12 Powerred FRFR cab.
4. Friedman 1x12 Powered FRFR

Anyone tried a few of those? Were the tones similar or vastly different from one solution to another? Is the difference between using Monitors and using FRFR cabs simply to be able to play louder and gig with?

Thanks,

The HS8's will be a fine speaker. Use the extra money to run these through a decent audio interface. The sound will only be as good as your weakest link!

I run my III using the SPDIF out into my audio interface (Clarett 4 pre) and then out to my speakers. When I initially did my "sound upgrade" a coupe of years ago, switching to a high quality interface gave a very noticeable sound improvement on my HS7s! More so than when I later "upgraded" to the Adams. I do like the Adams however, so if you have the money, buy once and be done with it!

I also did run my III into a Freidman 1x12 FRFR... and I did not like it near as well as my adams/hs7's. The sound was still being flavored in some respect... and did not translate well to other things. With the Adams everything sounds good to my ears and like the "sound in my head" so to speak!

Just my 0.02
 
What about the HS6.5 an HS5 ? Would there be a large tone difference with the HS5? I'm not planning on playing loud at all so..

Thanks,
A larger speaker doesn't just mean louder, it also affects the frequency response and thus your tone. Not just the low end, but across the whole spectrum.

If you check out the Yamaha HS series manual (pdf is on their website. I'm a new member so I cannot post links yet, unfortunately), they include frequency response graphs of each speaker.

The HS8 is much flatter across the frequency range than the HS7, which is flatter again than the HS5. That's in addition to the HS8 having an extended low end compared to the HS7 and HS5 (which you would expect from a larger speaker)

I believe smaller speakers may also result in more distortion of all frequencies when you're trying to push lower frequencies through them that they can't handle so well - but I may be wrong. I'm no expert. There's probably a reason why most guitar cabs use 8" or larger speakers, though.

The frequency response of the smaller speakers may not impact their intended usage for you, but it certainly means the speaker has more of its own tonal color, which will affect your tone. EQ at the end of your signal path may be able to compensate, and if you don't plan on playing in other environments that may be fine. I would recommend trying them if you can, to see how the Axe-Fx sounds through them.
 
I have a Xitone 1x12 which is great.

However, a while back I purchased a pair of Presonus 4.5 on a whim. They are awesome. I prefer them at the "at home" volumes I play. Not that there was anything wrong with the Xitone. Most often, I combine the Xitone and the Presonus and that of course is the absolute best.

The Presonus were recommended by Fractal when I inquired. I am a believer. They are $199, full retail. I got my set for ~$119! Unbelievable.

I would love to hear the Adam A7X someday.
 
I have a Xitone 1x12 which is great.

However, a while back I purchased a pair of Presonus 4.5 on a whim. They are awesome. I prefer them at the "at home" volumes I play. Not that there was anything wrong with the Xitone. Most often, I combine the Xitone and the Presonus and that of course is the absolute best.

The Presonus were recommended by Fractal when I inquired. I am a believer. They are $199, full retail. I got my set for ~$119! Unbelievable.

I would love to hear the Adam A7X someday.
I too combine my pair of Event 3way monitors with a single CLR Neo wedge and feel that this combination gets best of both worlds for my home setup. The monitors provide clear accurate stereo referencing detail and the CLR gives that oomf and thump that I think adds a lot to the guitar in the room feel we desire.
 
I have 2 Adam AX7 and a Line 6 PowerCab+!
Sounds very different(Not Bad)
I use for recording the Adam and for Playing around the PC+
Sometimes i use The Adams and the PC+!
 
Go for the monitors, for sure, over an FRFR cab.

I just got a set of Kali LP6's and they are AMAZING! They replaced some Rokit 6's, which were decent but there was always a nagging high-mid thing going on with them. The Kali's are absolutely killer for the money, and seem completely neutral once I dialed in the suggested settings using their dip-switch adjustments! You might want to go with the LP8's though if you can.
 
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I too combine my pair of Event 3way monitors with a single CLR Neo wedge and feel that this combination gets best of both worlds for my home setup. The monitors provide clear accurate stereo referencing detail and the CLR gives that oomf and thump that I think adds a lot to the guitar in the room feel we desire.
Would you please explain how you set up / use your CLR with monitors? I have a CLR (which I use for gigs and at home). I have been considering monitors but I'd like to be able to combine them with the CLR. Also, I have concerns that presets through monitors might not match tone / sound that they'd have through the CLR. Hope that makes sense ...
 
I previously had a pair of Yamaha HS8's, which sounded great. I upgraded to a pair of Adam A7X's and also have a pair of CLR's. The A7X's are better sounding than the HS8's, but the HS8's are an excellent choice for the $. What I would do is call your local Guitar Center and ask them if they have both in stock. Several of the local Guitar Centers here have both in stock. If so, take your guitar and Axe Fx in and take both sets of speakers for a test run. That way, you'll definitely know which set works best for your needs and budget. Honestly, I think you'll be happy with either as they are both excellent monitors.
 
Would you please explain how you set up / use your CLR with monitors? I have a CLR (which I use for gigs and at home). I have been considering monitors but I'd like to be able to combine them with the CLR. Also, I have concerns that presets through monitors might not match tone / sound that they'd have through the CLR. Hope that makes sense ...

Running both will blend the best of both.

If you have concerns about ruining your CLR patches for live performances, create a couple of banks dedicated to "at home" rig setup and volumes.

I have Presonus monitors and a Xitone 1x12 frfr wedge. I don't even bother to flip the switch on the Xitone anymore. When I do, everything I developed through the Presonus sounds good through the Xitone. YMMV.
 
Running both will blend the best of both.

If you have concerns about ruining your CLR patches for live performances, create a couple of banks dedicated to "at home" rig setup and volumes.

I have Presonus monitors and a Xitone 1x12 frfr wedge. I don't even bother to flip the switch on the Xitone anymore. When I do, everything I developed through the Presonus sounds good through the Xitone. YMMV.
Thank you -- can you please explain how I would hook up / connect FM3 with 1 CLR and a pair of monitors?
 
You need to start at a budget and work backwards.

$15,000 monitors sound better than $300 ones, just as $1,000 headphones beat out $78 ones.

As you creep closer to truly flat response the prices go up exponentially , the last 3% you’ll pay dearly for.
 
OP, get the HS8's

The PA speakers\Matrix\Friedman are for playing much much louder and can be a painful to play at home when you have a preset with the volume cranked, plus all the hiss, noise, and hum gets annoying pretty quick.
 
Thank you -- can you please explain how I would hook up / connect FM3 with 1 CLR and a pair of monitors?

Googled:

Out 1 is XLR. Out 2 is 1/4" with Humbuster™.
The labels "FX SEND" and "FX Return" are merely suggestive.
Either output can be used for anything you want, just like on the Axe-Fx III.
The available blocks are "OUT 1" and "OUT 2". Note to @TravisG406 : the "send block" is for creating internal feedback loops or send and return architectures and is not used in this case.

As for how Humbuster works, it senses and removes hum from a ground loop. It requires a special cable. The wiki covers it nicely:

From:

https://forum.fractalaudio.com/threads/fm3-general-discussion-thread.158170/#post-1887628
 
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